Being John Malkovich

Name: Being John Malkovich
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance
Released: October 29, 1999
Duration: 112 min
Rating: 90
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Cusack, John Malkovich

1999

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 36 Critics

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 461 Ratings

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8.9

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8.9	User Score Universal acclaim based on 461 Ratings

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BEING JOHN MALKOVICH

Movie Details & Credits

USA Films | Release Date: October 29, 1999

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Cusack, John Malkovich

Summary: An out-of-work puppeteer takes a filing clerk job on the cramped 7 ½ floor of an office building where he discovers a hidden tunnel allowing him to enter the mind and life of actor John Malkovich for 15 mintues before being ejected onto the New Jersey Turnpike.

Director: Spike Jonze

Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 112 min

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Awards & Rankings

3	#3 Best Movie of 1999
14	#14 Most Discussed Movie of 1999
19	#19 Most Shared Movie of 1999

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Film.com - John Hartl

Breathlessly imaginative. Read full review

100

Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman

The most excitingly original movie of the year. Read full review

100

New York Daily News - Jami Bernard

Gloriously inventive, delightfully nutty comic treasure is unlike anything you've ever seen. It's lunatic. Read full review

Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan

A clever and outrageous piece of whimsical fantasy that is unique, unpredictable and more than a little strange. Read full review

Charlotte Observer - Lawrence Toppman

It's among the most inventive, screwily funny and consistently surprising movies I've seen in years. Read full review

Film.com - Gemma Files

Surreal to the point of poeticism, amusing and tragic by turns. Read full review

USA Today - Mike Clark

The story keeps reinventing itself (some of the later plot twists are among the funniest), but a little goes a long way at 112 minutes - maybe 25 minutes more than this sporadically pointed conceit really needs.

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User Reviews

Halfwelshman

Feb 8, 2012

Being John Malkovich really is a film like no other. Director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman's vision for the film is so complete, so unique and off-the-wall, it makes for an utterly spellbinding viewing experience. The performances are all superb, and many a far cry from theBeing John Malkovich really is a film like no other. Director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman's vision for the film is so complete, so unique and off-the-wall, it makes for an utterly spellbinding viewing experience. The performances are all superb, and many a far cry from the respective cast member's usual roles.John Cusack makes a very engaging, if highly unlikeable protagonist as Craig Schwatz, an ambitious but morally bereft puppeteer, who finds a mysterious portal into the head of John Malkovich. Malkovich, quite amusingly, gives one of the best performances of his career, playing a parody of himself, who is unwittingly used by a whole host of people for entertainment, entrepreneurial ventures and for a far more sinister purpose. Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener and Orson Bean are all excellent too as Craig's unfulfilled, animal-loving wife, his sexually deviant co-worker and his ancient and looney boss respectively. Being John Malkovich delivers on all fronts, from the cast playing a weird and wonderful array of characters to Spike Jonze's tight and controlled direction, Lance Acord's cinematography perfectly capturing the simple, yet effective visuals, Carter Burwell's fantastic score and especially Charlie Kaufman's slick, sharp and side-splittingly funny script. It's surreal, dark, well-written and simply hilarious. It's also superbly odd, bordering on lunacy, but in a good way. There's nothing else like it, and there likely never will be. By the end of Being John Malkovich, you've certainly been on a journey - you're not certain where you've been, or what it all means, but by God you had a good time.… Expand

10 of 10 users found this helpful100

ErikH.

May 12, 2006

An entirely unique concept brought together by solid performance (particularly Diaz, Cusak, and Malkovich). A rare film treat that provides both laughs and contemplation. It doesn't have the traditional "happy ending" many viewers demand, but neither did "Hamlet" and I hear that got An entirely unique concept brought together by solid performance (particularly Diaz, Cusak, and Malkovich). A rare film treat that provides both laughs and contemplation. It doesn't have the traditional "happy ending" many viewers demand, but neither did "Hamlet" and I hear that got decent reviews.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

AmriT240892

Aug 3, 2011

Best movie of all time . One of the better films of the past few years.A strikingly original and often brilliant movie that seems to run out of steam in the last 15 minutes, but then again, maybe its supposed to.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

PatrickD.

Sep 13, 2005

Amen Matt A. Being John Malcovich is an unusual film to the world of cinema. It seems more original than any of Burton's movies. Full of twisted love triangles, and drama, along with wierdness and puppets.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

CalumRhys

Jan 8, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Upon my first viewing of this film, I initially saw it as an absurdly incomprehensible and arty picture, but that may have been due to me being a naive student at the time. Now, upon my second viewing many years later, I can honestly say that I now appreciate this film for the gloriously weird marvel that it is.

The directorial debut from indie auteur Spike Jonze, written by the fantastic Charlie Kaufman, 'Being John Malkovich' is a brilliant fantasy black comedy that delves into an area of originality that no other movie has ever approached. With a premise that reeks of confidence and a plot that has its audience questioning the very nature of it, this film takes its viewers on a ride through a confusing yet rewarding adventure full of twists, turns and outright hilarious scenes.

The acting is superb from all throughout, and the humour, whilst mostly quite subtle, has a dark overtone that acts as more of a satire - my favourite scene being when (spoiler alert) Malkovich enters his own portal and is thrust into a world where everyone is John Malkovich, with their vocabulary being limited to a single word: "Malkovich", a scene that I appreciated as both original and pure comedy gold. Both Jonze and Kaufman should be proud of this monumental feat of moviemaking.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

asthobaskoro

Feb 19, 2011

Being John Malkovich is hillarious and rare, contains surrelism, absurdity, Kaufman-style. But I think Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind still top of it. No head-f**kery this time

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

ChrisB.

Feb 3, 2006

An appaling waste of time and talent. Shallow, unlikeable characters; unpleasant, jumbled cinematography, a shoddy script and no redeeming characteristics whatsoever.

0 of 2 users found this helpful

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